The best part about the Bible? You can read the same stuff over and over and over, and you can learn something completely new every time. Yesterday at church, we read from Acts 10:1-23a. Now, I know that I've read from this particular passage before, but for some reason I never quite understood it like this. Go ahead and take a quick look at the passage.
So basically, it's about these two completely different men: Cornelius and Peter.
Cornelius is a Roman Centurion. Being these two things combined, he was probably pretty wealthy and pretty smart. Also, a centurion was a commander of the Roman army.
Peter, on the other hand, was a poor fisherman turned follower of Jesus. He was also a Jew.
Jews and Romans pretty much hated each other at this time. They weren't even allowed to talk to each other.
The only thing these two men had in common was their fear of the Lord.
But God was about to bring them together in Him.
Then they both had visions from God.
Cornelius' vision was God telling him to send messengers to go to Peter, asking him to go back to Cornelius.
Peter's vision was this:
'and [he] saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, "Rise Peter; kill and eat."
But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For i have never eaten anything common or unclean."
And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common."'
While Peter sat there wondering what it all meant, Cornelius' men appears on the scene. He invites them in so they can explain that their master wants him to return with them so Cornelius can hear the gospel.
Now, I don't remember what I had thought the first time I read this passage, but I probably didn't think of it as much more than another conversion story, nothing out of the ordinary. But there's so much deeper stuff here! It mostly comes from Peter's end of the story. (vs. 11-16)
My first thought? Way to go Peter, following the Law, you are so holy. Well apparently, he must have been thinking the same thing. Basically, what Peter is saying when he says that is, 'No Lord, I am too holy and have never and would never eat such things.'
oooooh.
Peter needs some humbling. And he gets it of course.
God then tells him, 'It doesn't matter what you view to be unclean. I am GOD and I have made them pure. Do not call these things that I have made simple, common, unclean.'
BAM.
This happens three times. Maybe so it'll stick. (Reminds me of how he had also denied Jesus three times...)
But what does this mean? Well let's bring Cornelius onto the scene. Just when Jesus teaches Peter a lesson, He sends a Roman Centurion his way. Remember how I said Romans and Jews don't mix well? Romans are unclean. At least before Christ came to save Jews and Gentiles (basically everyone else) alike. And Peter obviously needed to be reminded of that before he was called to present the gospel to Cornelius. Peter needed to be reminded to not call common and unclean what He makes clean. God wasn't talking about food, He was talking about people.
Amazing huh?
Well that's not the only thing that struck me.
Another thing was that God chose Peter to do all this. To be humbled. And to be used. He wanted to use Peter. Imperfect Peter. His plan is perfect and right, even when He chooses us.
Awesome.
When we let Him use us, so much can happen.
He is Powerful.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The Mystery of Words
So, poems are pretty great. I don't know what it is, or how to put it into words, but it's like, there is something...magical about them? No, sounds like i'm describing a unicorn... i like mysterious better. Or cryptic, curious, or even esoteric. I love the thesaurus .. but anyway, poems are just beast. So i would like to show you a few. These probably aren't your average poems, but they are worth watching over and over and over...and over.
The first one is maybe my top favorite: A Crucifixion Type Love by Brent Rice. I've watched this one hundreds of times. Literally. And the words really just amaze me every time. The first time i watched it my thoughts were,
'oh my gosh this is too cute. cute is not even the right word. this is beautiful. these would make the best vows. i want this, exactly this, someday. this is what i'm waiting for.'
And then i watched it a second time.
And a third time.
And a fourth time.
Probably around the eighth time i began to notice how some things are how God showed/shows his love for us. Then, as i continued to watch it hit me and i noticed how EVERYTHING is how God's love is displayed. I got chills and was amazed how Brent Rice weaved everything together to show his love for his wife, and God's love for His wife. I still watch it every so often to remind me of these things, and i encourage you to watch it for yourself and watch it often. :)
My next favorite: No Excuse by David Bowden.
This one i had the opportunity to memorize and give to my own youth group recently. The one above is me (obviously :p) but here's the link to David Bowden's version on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKCMbbeMaxM But i love this one because it tells me and reminds me of everything i am to live for. Especially when life gets crazy and self-focused...
Ok you know what, all of these are my favorite so here's another one:
This one is called I Will Wait For You by Jannette...Ikz. She is phenomenal. A great reminder aimed at girls, but great for guys too! Another must see. Another example of how its hard to differentiate whether it's aimed at a certain person, or God. Really great.
One last one for my girls...just watch it. Hah. Janette tells us what it looks like to be the Proverbs 31 woman in today's world.
If you would like to look for many many many more great poems like these search for the YouTube channel P4CM (Poems 4 Christ Movement). That channel is stock full of 'em. http://www.youtube.com/user/p4cm
The first one is maybe my top favorite: A Crucifixion Type Love by Brent Rice. I've watched this one hundreds of times. Literally. And the words really just amaze me every time. The first time i watched it my thoughts were,
'oh my gosh this is too cute. cute is not even the right word. this is beautiful. these would make the best vows. i want this, exactly this, someday. this is what i'm waiting for.'
And then i watched it a second time.
And a third time.
And a fourth time.
My next favorite: No Excuse by David Bowden.
This one i had the opportunity to memorize and give to my own youth group recently. The one above is me (obviously :p) but here's the link to David Bowden's version on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKCMbbeMaxM But i love this one because it tells me and reminds me of everything i am to live for. Especially when life gets crazy and self-focused...
Ok you know what, all of these are my favorite so here's another one:
This one is called I Will Wait For You by Jannette...Ikz. She is phenomenal. A great reminder aimed at girls, but great for guys too! Another must see. Another example of how its hard to differentiate whether it's aimed at a certain person, or God. Really great.
One last one for my girls...just watch it. Hah. Janette tells us what it looks like to be the Proverbs 31 woman in today's world.
If you would like to look for many many many more great poems like these search for the YouTube channel P4CM (Poems 4 Christ Movement). That channel is stock full of 'em. http://www.youtube.com/user/p4cm
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
He is my Refuge, my Fortress.
"He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for His children it will be a refuge." Proverbs 14:26
This is the verse that has inspired the name for my little blog here. I've been wanting to start one up again for a while now, especially with my mom's persistent 'encouragment', but I had to think of a name first! After about 502934198450 different tries where every name i wanted was taken, i received this verse in a text. I love when my friends send me bible verses. ^.^ So right when i was about to give up, i got this verse, tried a couple of things before this one worked! Obviously... :P
I love this verse because it tells me of one of His wonderful promises. When it says fear, our first thought may be of a sort of terror, but that's not the type of fear we're talking about in this verse.
This fear is Reverence.
This fear is Awe.
This fear is Obedience.
This fear is Love.
So He is promising that whoever fears Him in this way, WILL find refuge in the fortress He has in Himself. I love seeing that word in the bible.
Will.
See the thing is, when we hear 'Oh i will do this or that' from people around us, they don't always mean it. But God, He's God! When he says he WILL do something,
He WILL do it!!
So when He says that we WILL find refuge in Him, when we fear Him, He means it.
Another thing that I love is that He calls us His children. Isn't that lovely? He doesn't just say His people. He purposely, and affectionately calls us His children in this particular verse. Gah. Love it. ^.^
So. Yeah. I want this blog to be mostly about the little things God reveals to me in my life and through His word, about Himself. He never ceases to blow my mind and I always have the urge to shout from the rooftops what I learn from Him, and since i doubt my neighbors would appreciate that (especially if it's late at night) i figured a blog would be effective in that area. :)
I hope God uses my little rambles for His glory!
And that you understand them. Hehe.
He is our Refuge and our Fortress.
This is the verse that has inspired the name for my little blog here. I've been wanting to start one up again for a while now, especially with my mom's persistent 'encouragment', but I had to think of a name first! After about 502934198450 different tries where every name i wanted was taken, i received this verse in a text. I love when my friends send me bible verses. ^.^ So right when i was about to give up, i got this verse, tried a couple of things before this one worked! Obviously... :P
I love this verse because it tells me of one of His wonderful promises. When it says fear, our first thought may be of a sort of terror, but that's not the type of fear we're talking about in this verse.
This fear is Reverence.
This fear is Awe.
This fear is Obedience.
This fear is Love.
So He is promising that whoever fears Him in this way, WILL find refuge in the fortress He has in Himself. I love seeing that word in the bible.
Will.
See the thing is, when we hear 'Oh i will do this or that' from people around us, they don't always mean it. But God, He's God! When he says he WILL do something,
He WILL do it!!
So when He says that we WILL find refuge in Him, when we fear Him, He means it.
Another thing that I love is that He calls us His children. Isn't that lovely? He doesn't just say His people. He purposely, and affectionately calls us His children in this particular verse. Gah. Love it. ^.^
So. Yeah. I want this blog to be mostly about the little things God reveals to me in my life and through His word, about Himself. He never ceases to blow my mind and I always have the urge to shout from the rooftops what I learn from Him, and since i doubt my neighbors would appreciate that (especially if it's late at night) i figured a blog would be effective in that area. :)
I hope God uses my little rambles for His glory!
And that you understand them. Hehe.
He is our Refuge and our Fortress.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)